CHARITIES wanting to run a recycling shop in Leamington are being asked to come forward.

The call follows Warwickshire County Council's decision to open a fundraising scheme at the town's Princes Drive Waste Centre.

The shop will recycle items left at the tip, deemed suitable for selling.

Councillors decided to hand over the running of the shop after the success of a similar scheme by the Shakespeare Hospice at Burton Farm, near Stratford.

The Stratford project was the first of its kind in the UK when it opened in September 2003 and the Shakespeare Hospice shops manager Carole Clarke urged other charities to get involved.

She said: "The scheme has been extremely successful for us. The Shakespeare Hospice would certainly be poorer without this relationship and I would encourage any other charity to seize this opportunity with both hands."

Cllr Martin Heatley, portfolio holder for environment, said: "The county council is proud to have pioneered such a successful scheme.

"We have decided to repeat the exercise in Leamington and we hope local people will support this shop the way they have supported the one in Stratford."

He added that the charitable organisation which best demonstrates its ability to run the shop for the community and the environment, will be awarded a two-year contract.

Interested organisations will be asked to complete a questionnaire to assess their suitability for shortlisting.

The contract will be awarded after the shortlisted charities submit a business plan.

Successful applicants for the shop will be required to provide a level of service agreed with Warwickshire County Council, covering issues such as opening hours, staffing levels and other management issues.

For further information, log on to the website www.warwickshire.gov.uk/ tenders or contact Jo Ingle on 01926 418064.